Bandana Purkayastha is assistant professor of sociology and Asian American studies at the University of Connecticut. Mangala Subramaniam is assistant professor of sociology and women's studies at Purdue University.

In contemporary discussions of gender relations around the world, a gap often exists between theory-which overemphasizes generalized units such as 'international' or 'developing'-and the complex ways that global and local forces interact to structure womenOs lives in specific countries and regions. Analyses of movement dynamics on the global level contribute to our understanding of women's activism across borders but do not highlight localized politics spearheaded by poor women. Too often, editors Bandana Purkayastha and Mangala Subramaniam have found, marginalized groups in rural or impoverished areas are overlooked by the international economy of knowledge. The Power of Women's Informal Networks describes and evaluates social organization among poor women in South Asia and West Africa. The contributors to this important new collection of essays draw our attention to these small-scale but politically and socially significant networks as they focus on both agency and the situated contexts within which women work together to improve their lives.

1 Introduction Chapter 2 Networking within Santal Society: Focus on Women Chapter 3 Women's Social Support Networks and Contraceptive Use in Mali Chapter 4 Women's Networks and Social Change in Bangladesh Chapter 5 Impacts of Changing Patterns of Women's Association Membership in Senegal Chapter 6 Using Informal Networks to Seek Formal Political Participation in Ghana Chapter 7 Women Weavers in Nepal: Between Global Market and Local Production Chapter 8 The Informal Collective as a Space for Participatory Planning: The Peri-Urban Interface in Hubli-Dharwad Twin City Area Chapter 9 Informal Networks, Gender, Change